Giving back

Two unexpected things happened to me today.

First, I found out about the scare caused by salmonella bacteria in my favorite peanut butter brand, Peter Pan. It has prompted a global recall of the product after a few hundred people fell sick in the US and a few died. Amazingly, the shop where I regularly buy this peanut butter managed to contact me asking that I return the merchandise to them.

Second, I received a belated birthday present in the form of a Charriol ball pen, with a wish that I enjoy writing more and more to inspire others. And interestingly, this fancy ball pen made in Geneva uses Parker cartridges, so finding replacements is easy.

Most of my day, however, was spent on predictable activities like cleaning up my email inbox, updating my action list, having a cappuccino during coffee breaks, and enjoying the salad bar for lunch. I also received two books from Amazon, one requested by my daughter to give as a birthday present to her class mate friend, and another for myself about life coaching: The Coaching Starter Kit by CoachVille.com.

What was also to be expected is that I felt tired after a long first day back in office. It was the first day in many months that I didn’t have to write a daily blog post for Reborn at 50. However, I found that I could not refrain from writing even as I was tired – the urge to write is within me now, even if I am bleary eyed.

So I live forward appreciating the unexpected as well as expected happenings. The experience of “giving back” is one I will explore further: giving back to nature by being careful and avoid wasting valuable resources; giving back to friends by sharing good things with those who support me; and giving back to the universe by returning tasks, beliefs, and material posessions that are poisonous to me.

The art of giving back will help me to create space for living forward.

Photograph: Balinese altar for giving back, with checkered clothes with Poleng pattern depicting right and wrong living side by side.